System and method for making laminated sheets

ABSTRACT

A laminating system and a method of making a laminated product can include a roll of substrate material and a roll of film material to be laminated together to form a laminate. The system includes a sheeter station and, optionally, a breaker bar station and/or a registration station. The sheeter station is configured to cut the laminate at desired locations based on either signals received from the registration station or other system components. The breaker bar station is configured to remove any roll set curl that may reside in the laminate as a result of the substrate and/or film materials being fed to the system directly from rolls. The registration station is arranged, during an automated registration mode, to detect markings on the laminate and instruct the sheeter station to cut the laminate into individual sheets for subsequently processing into cards such as credit cards, gift cards, ID cards, etc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/955,129,filed Nov. 29, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for producingindividual laminated sheets and, more particularly, to machines andmethods for producing individual laminated sheets using a roll-to-rolllaminating system and process.

BACKGROUND

Laminated sheets and cards are used in many industries for manypurposes. Typical uses of laminated sheets include packaging, banners,decorative/informational signs, point of purchase displays and the like.Typical uses of laminated cards made from these sheets include creditcards, driver's licenses, ID cards, phone cards, gift cards, loyaltycards, game cards, key cards and the like. These laminated sheets andcards are constructed from multiple layers of plastic or paper basedsubstrates, holographic, metalized, printed or clear films or foils, andadhesives and coatings. These laminated cards also usually includeprinting, graphics, and/or other features such as security elements.Such laminated sheets are typically manufactured using roll-to-roll orsheet-to-roll laminating processes.

Conventional examples of a sheet-to-roll laminating process can beperformed by machines such as the Billhofer EK laminator, a D&K Group,Inc. laminator, a GBC laminator, and a Steinemann laminator, forexample. One particular sheet-to-roll laminating machine and process isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,544,266 to Herring et al. Conventionalexamples of a roll-to-roll laminating process can be performed bymachines such as an Egan coater/laminator, a Faustel coater/laminator,and a Black Clawson coater/laminator, for example.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,544,266 describes that difficulties arise in theproduction of laminated cards using the conventional roll-to-rollprocess because the cards must ultimately meet certain standards, suchas with respect to peel strength or resistance to delamination. Further,according to Herring et al., defects such as bubbles or wrinkles betweenlayers, and warping, curling or bowing of the final laminated cards mayoccur during or after the manufacturing process. Warping may occur as aresult of a roll laminating process wherein rolls of materialconstituting each layer are adhered together as they are unrolled,coated, and fed into a lamination press with unbalanced tension.Further, Herring et al. describe that conventional roll-to-rolllaminating requires the heavier plastic materials to be stored on woundrolls and thus they tend to take on roll set curl (i.e., a memory ofhaving been wound up into a coil).

A balanced, symmetrical construction is optimal in order to preventcurling or bowing in the finished cards. Thus, even if only one side ofthe card requires a laminated film, such as a metalized film ordiffraction surface, the opposite side of the composite constructionshould have a matching film type (though may be clear, printed,metalized, etc.). Accordingly, one such known card laminate comprises asplit core substrate of two adjacent layers of 12 mil (300 micron) whitePVC copolymer substrate. Laminated to one side of each of the PVC splitcores is 0.48 gauge (12 microns), 0.60 gauge (15 microns), 0.75 gauge(19 micron), or 0.92 gauge (23 micron) PET holographic, metalized,brushed, coated, printed or clear film, with or without tie coat. A tiecoat or primer may be used to improve the bond between the adhesive andthe metalized surface of the film. This lamination involves a roll toroll lamination process using a conventional water-based adhesive, forexample.

The resulting laminate is then sheeted off-line in a process wherebysections of the laminate are cut to a desired length, for example, to asize of 24″×28.5″ or 24.75″×29″, for example, and then using aguillotine or other cutting method to square the sheet. Registration ofthe holographic imagery to the sheet is not conventionally instrumentcontrolled or automated. These sheets are next printed, and then fusedback to back with two adhesive coated 2 mil (50 micron) PVC overlays ontop and bottom to form the outer skins in a second and final laminationstep, which is typically performed by the card manufacturer. The printedsheets are then reduced to card size in any manner known in the art.Features such as signature panels, holograms and/or decorative foils areoften applied to the individual cards as required or desired. Thesecards are then embossed on standard personalization equipment.

The above-described card laminate and process of producing the same hasmany benefits, such as heat resistant holography and metallization,bright holography, stable oriented PET, excellent bond strength ofcoatings to PET to prevent delamination, and tie coat on metal toimprove bond between adhesive and metal. However, the above describedcard laminate and process of producing the same has many drawbacks aswell. For example, according to Herring et al., PVC in roll formpossesses roll set curl which causes sheet curl and rippled edges, andPVC in roll form may limit certain product constructions. As such,Herring et al. describe that the roll-to-roll laminating processrequires specialty sheeting to achieve registered imagery, heavieradhesive coat weights that can create visual defects, and finallamination cycle required to activate adhesive and achieve peel strengthrequirements for the typical end uses, such as ANSI/ISO specifications.In order to alleviate the known problems with roll-to-roll laminatingprocesses, Herring et al. describe a process that introduces the heavierplastic materials as flattened individual sheets. In the sheet-to-rolllamination process described by Herring et al., the thinner films can besupplied on rolls, while the heavier plastic sheets are supplied from astack and are individually inserted into the process to be laminated bythe film or films. This assertedly reduces and/or eliminatesroll-set-curl and overcomes the problems and disadvantages ofroll-to-roll systems.

While sheet-to-roll processes such as that disclosed by Herring et al.can substantially reduce and/or eliminate roll set curl, they aresusceptible to other inefficiencies. For example, when the individualsheets are loaded into the process and laminated with the foils or otherfilms, the foils and films are provided from continuous rolls, but theindividual sheets are typically loaded in an overlapping arrangement, asdepicted in FIG. 1 of the Herring patent discussed above, for example.Accordingly, each individual sheet includes an unlaminated trailing edgeportion, which is often referred to as a “gutter” portion. To facilitatefurther processing, the gutter portion can be trimmed and recycled orotherwise discarded. Trimming and recycling require additional efforts,while discarding is wasteful. Moreover, when the foils or films includemarkings such as logos, names, holographs, etc., the foils and filmsmust be registered with the individual sheets in order to ensure properplacement of the markings. Such registration must occur before the filmand sheets are laminated because the sheets are pre-cut. Difficultiescan arise when registering the pre-cut sheets, however, because they canbe prone to dimensional variations and positional misalignments, etc.,due to the basic tolerances of the material handling equipment that isconventionally utilized.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure includes a laminating systemincluding a substrate supply station, a film supply station, a drivedrum, a lamination roller, and an elongate bar. The substrate supplystation is adapted to support a roll of substrate material. The filmsupply station is adapted to support a roll of film material. The drivedrum is located downstream from the film supply station and a portion ofthe second surface of the film material is adapted to travel around thedrive drum during a lamination process. The lamination roller isdisposed downstream from the substrate supply station and adjacent tothe drive drum such as to define a nip between the lamination roller andthe drive drum. The nip is adapted to receive the substrate material andthe film material during the lamination process. The lamination rolleris adapted to apply a pressure to the drive drum during the laminationprocess to facilitate lamination of the substrate material to the filmmaterial to produce a laminate. The elongate bar is disposed downstreamof the lamination roller and arranged and configured such that thesubstrate material of the laminate slidingly engages the elongate bar tothereby curl the laminate around the elongate bar to producesubstantially flattened laminate.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a laminating systemincluding a substrate supply station, a film supply station, a drivedrum, a lamination roller, and a sheeter station. The substrate supplystation is adapted to support a roll of substrate material. The filmsupply station is adapted to support a roll of film material. The drivedrum is located downstream from the film supply station and a portion ofthe film material is adapted to travel around the drive drum during alamination process. The lamination roller is disposed downstream fromthe substrate supply station and adjacent to the drive drum such as todefine a nip between the lamination roller and the drive drum. The nipis adapted to receive the substrate material and the film materialduring the lamination process. The lamination roller is adapted to applya pressure to the drive drum during the lamination process to facilitatelamination of the substrate material to the film material to produce alaminate. The sheeter station is disposed downstream from the laminationroller for cutting the laminate into individual sheets.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of makinga laminated product. The method includes moving substrate material froma roll through a nip disposed between a drive drum and a laminatingroller, wherein the substrate material has a first surface and a secondsurface disposed opposite the first surface. Additionally, the methodincludes moving film material from a roll through the nip, the filmmaterial having a first surface and a second surface. Additionally, themethod includes applying a force to the substrate material and the filmmaterial with the laminating roller as the substrate material and filmmaterial move through the nip, thereby facilitating lamination of thefirst surface of the substrate material to the first surface of the filmmaterial to provide a continuous web of laminate. Finally, the methodincludes bending and sliding the continuous web of laminate around anelongate bar that is disposed downstream from the nip to provide acontinuous web of substantially flattened laminate.

A still further aspect of the present disclosure provides a method ofmaking a laminated product, which includes moving substrate materialfrom a roll through a nip disposed between a drive drum and a laminatingroller. The substrate material has a first surface and a second surfacedisposed opposite the first surface. The method additionally includesmoving film material from a roll through the nip, wherein the filmmaterial has a first surface and a second surface. The methodadditionally includes applying a force to the substrate material and thefilm material with the laminating roller as the substrate material andfilm material move through the nip, thereby facilitating lamination ofthe first surface of the substrate material to the first surface of thefilm material to provide a continuous web of laminate. Moreover, themethod includes determining when to cut the continuous web of laminateto provide individual sheets of a predetermined dimension; and finally,cutting the continuous web of laminate with a sheeter station to provideindividual sheets of the predetermined dimension.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of one embodiment of a laminating systemconstructed in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment of acontrol system of a laminating system constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of one embodiment of amethod or process of handling material in accordance with the principlesof the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Although the following text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments of the invention, it should be understoodthat the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of theclaims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description isto be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment of the invention since describing every possible embodimentwould be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternativeembodiments could be implemented, using either current technology ortechnology developed after the filing date of this patent, which wouldstill fall within the scope of the claims defining the invention.

It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined inthis patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ ishereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intentto limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication,beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not beinterpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in anysection of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To theextent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent isreferred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning,that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader,and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implicationor otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element isdefined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recitalof any structure, express or implied, it is not intended that the scopeof any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.

FIG. 1 is a side schematic representation of one embodiment of alaminating system 10, which can be used to prepare individual sheets ofproduct 1, in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.The system 10 includes a film supply station 12 adapted to support orsupporting a roll of film material 28, a substrate supply station 14adapted to support or supporting a roll of substrate material 44, analignment station 16, a lamination station 18, a breaker bar station 20,a registration station 22, a sheeter station 24, and a stacking station26.

Generally, during operation of the laminating system 10, the filmmaterial 28 and the substrate material 44 are simultaneously unrolledfrom their respective rolls and fed to the lamination station 18 to belaminated together into a continuous web of laminate, which isidentified by reference numeral 68 in FIG. 1. The alignment station 16,as will be described in more detail below, ensures that the filmmaterial 28 and the substrate material 44 enter the lamination station18 aligned with each other. After the lamination station 18, thecontinuous web of laminate 68 passes through the breaker bar station 20,wherein the laminate 68 is bent, curled, or otherwise manipulated toremove any roll set curl that might exist in the laminate 68 due to thefilm and/or substrate materials 28, 44 being fed into the system 10directly from their respective storage rolls. Preferably, the breakerbar station 20 ejects laminate 68 having substantially no curl, e.g.,substantially flat laminate 68. Upon leaving the breaker bar station 20,the flattened laminate 68 passes through the registration station 22,which can, in an automated registration mode, detect markings carried bythe laminate 68 and instruct the sheeter station 24 to cut the laminate68 into individual sheets 1 having specified dimensions. Alternatively,in a manual registration mode, the sheeter station 24 may be set to cutthe laminate 68 into the sheets 1 based on an input desired dimension ofthe sheets 1. The specific location for each cut can be determined bymonitoring various process parameters. In either mode, the individualsheets 1 are then passed to the stacker station 26 and stacked neatlyfor storage and/or further processing into credit cards, driverslicenses, ID cards, phone cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, game cards,collectors cards, key cards, or generally any other desirable productcard or otherwise.

So configured, the system 10 and basic method of the present disclosureadvantageously produces flat individual sheets 1, which have beenlaminated from film and substrate materials 28, 44 provided directly tothe system 10 in roll form. Providing the roll stock materials 28, 44directly to the system 10 increases the overall operating efficiency ofthe device and reduces and/or minimizes waste. Additionally, as will bedescribed further below, the sheeter station 24 of the disclosed system10 is configured to ensure that the individual sheets 1 are cut topredetermined dimensions within tight tolerances, thereby improvingmanufacturing accuracy and producing higher quality product.

Each of the foregoing components of the system 10 and the methods ofhandling the material of the present disclosure will now be described inmore detail.

Referring still to FIG. 1, the film supply station 12 includes the rollof film material 28, as well as a film coating station 30, a drive drum32, and a drying oven 34. The roll of film material 28 is disposed on ashaft 36 and configured to be pulled by the drive drum 32 and fed to thelamination station 18 during operation of the system 10.

The film material 28 includes a first surface 28 a and a second surface28 b that is opposite the first surface 28 a. The film material 28 canbe a plastic material, a paper material, a metalized material such asfoil, or any other natural or synthetic material. In one embodiment, thefilm material 28 can have a thickness in the range of approximately 0.25mils (6.35 μm) to approximately 2.0 mils (50.8 μm). In some embodimentsthe film material 28 can be printed with a pattern or with text, whichcan include an image such as a holographic image, a logo, a photograph,or otherwise, and/or can be coated with an additional film, layer, orother material.

In some embodiments, the film material 28 can be in a range ofapproximately 12 μm to approximately 23 μm low haze, heat stable, printtreated biaxially oriented PET. However, the film material 28 can have athickness in a range from approximately 1 μm to approximately 50 μm, oreven more. In alternative embodiments, the film material 28 can be, forexample, APET, PETG, PBT, OPP, PVC, acrylic, PC, PS, ABS, HIPS, PLA(polylactic acid), and/or co-extruded films. Olefinic films (PP,metallocene catalyzed, etc.) can be used for certain applications notdemanding post lamination processes, or requiring ANSI/ISO performance.In other embodiments, specific functional and aesthetic coatings can beapplied to the film material 28 to provide desired security features,performance and appearance, for example. The film material 28 can bemetalized (vapor deposited metal or other compounds), holographic,brushed, printed (e.g., graphics, logos, indicia, marble, wood grain,etc.), tinted or clear, and may additionally include layered securityfeatures.

The film coating station 30 can include a reservoir (not shown) forstoring an adhesive, and an applicator 38 for applying a layer of theadhesive to the first surface 28 a of the film material 28 as it travelspast the film coating station 30. The applicator 38 can include aroller, a sprayer, a bath, or any other conventionally known applicator.The adhesive can include any water-based adhesive capable of serving theprinciples of the present disclosure. For example, the adhesive caninclude an aqueous adhesive such as a cross-linked polyurethanecopolymer composition, e.g., commercially available Henkel Liofol®solventless laminating adhesive, Dow ROBOND™ L-Water-Based Adhesive forLamination, or Bayer Dispercoll U-Pur® water-based laminating adhesive.In one embodiment, the film coating station 30 provides a predeterminedcoat weight in the range of approximately 0.2 pounds per ream toapproximately 10 pounds per ream coating on the first surface 28 a ofthe film material 28. Suitable adhesives include any adhesives known inthe art to be suitable for lamination of a film layer to a substratelayer, such as adhesives used in conventional sheet-to-roll orroll-to-roll processes. When the adhesive is applied by a coatingstation 30, preferably a water-based adhesive is used. Such an adhesivecan have a peel strength well above the minimum requirement, and issuitably water and chemical resistant, per ANSI/ISO 7810 standards.Where the adhesive is pre-coated onto the film, perhaps a heat sealadhesive, which can be water or solvent based, or extrusion coated, canbe used. Alternatively, an adhesive, either water or solvent based, suchas a heat seal adhesive, may be precoated onto the film layer, in whichcase a coating station is not required. While various examples ofadhesives have been disclosed, other adhesives can be used, and theoperation and effect of the overall system and method of the presentdisclosure, as defined in the appending claims, is not affected in anyway by the specific adhesive used.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the drying oven 34 of the film supply station12 includes an arc-shaped heating device disposed adjacent to the drivedrum 32. As such, the film material 28 carried by the drive drum 32passes adjacent to or through the drying oven 34 in a manner thatenables the oven to heat the water-based adhesive applied by the filmcoating station 30 to evaporate and remove the water before moving thefilm material 28 to the lamination station 18. In one embodiment, thedrying oven 34 can include an impinged air-drying oven that is eitherelectric or gas fired. In other embodiments, the drying oven 34 caninclude any other type of oven or heater capable of serving the intendedpurpose. In still further alternative embodiments, the system 10 mayutilize an adhesive that does not require heating and/or evaporationand, as such, the system 10 would not necessarily include a drying oven34, but rather, the drive drum 32 could deliver the film material 28directly from the film coating station 30 to the lamination station 18.In still other embodiments, the adhesive can be radiation curable, andin place of drying the adhesive in the oven, the adhesive can becross-linked by exposing it to a UV light, for example, prior to orafter lamination, or by irradiating the sheets with an electron beam(“EB”) source after lamination. In yet another embodiment, the filmmaterial 28 can be coated in-line with a hot melt adhesive via a hotmelt/extrusion die, for example. Accordingly, as mentioned above, thetype or method of application of the adhesive is not to be limited toany particularly disclosed adhesive, and the particular adhesive usedhas no effect on the overall operation and effect of the subject matterrecited in the appending claims.

With continuing reference to FIG. 1, the drive drum 32, as shown,includes a generally cylindrical drum disposed on a drive shaft 40 forrotation relative to the drying oven 34 and for pulling the filmmaterial 28 from its roll and toward the lamination station 18. Thedrive shaft 40 can be fixed to the drive drum 32 by a spline connectionor other means, for example, and driven by a motor (not shown).Additionally, the drive drum 32 can be equipped with a drum encoder 42that is configured to monitor the rotational position and/or speed ofthe drive drum 32, for example, as will be discussed in more detailbelow, such that the film material 28 is fed to the lamination station18 at a rate in cooperation with a rate at which the substrate supplystation 14 delivers the substrate material 44.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the substrate supply station 14 includes theroll of the substrate material 44, as well as an unwind shaft 45, and atensioning device 46. The substrate material 44 includes a first surface44 a and a second surface 44 b that is opposite the first surface 44 a.The substrate material 44 can be a paper material, a plastic material,or any other desired material. In one embodiment, the substrate material44 can have a thickness in a range of approximately 2 mils toapproximately 24 mils, and a maximum width of approximately 40 inches(i.e., 1016 millimeters). For transaction cards, for example, thesubstrate material 44 can preferably be a 12 mil thick PVC copolymer.However, the substrate material 44 can range from approximately 5 milsthick to approximately 30 mils thick in some applications, especiallyfor other sheet stock to produce other card types, such as ID cards,phone cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, casino cards, etc. The substratematerial 44 can be clear, translucent, or colored. Alternate materialscan also be used, for example, PVC homopolymer, PET, APET, PETG, PC, PS,ABS, acrylic, olefins such as PE/PP, HIPS, PLA, paper and board stock.

As discussed in the background section set forth above, in someembodiments where the substrate material 44 comprises a heavier materialsuch as a plastic (e.g., polyvinylchloride (PVC)), the substratematerial 44 can take on roll set curl. That is, due to the substratematerial 44 being stored in a roll, as shown, the material 44 can becomedeformed and include a curl in a direction corresponding to thedirection in which it is rolled. For example, in the disclosedembodiment, in the absence of tension, the substrate material 44 mayinclude a curl C1, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, in a directiontoward the first surface of the substrate material 44. At least oneembodiment of the system 10 disclosed herein therefore includesfacilities to substantially permanently reduce and/or eliminate thiscurl C1, which if not reduced, can compromise the efficiency ofsubsequent processing operations. Such facilities are present in thebreaker bar station 20, which was mentioned above and will be describedin more detail below.

To facilitate processing and supply of the substrate material 44 to thesystem 10 in a controlled manner, the substrate supply station 14includes the tensioning device 46 disposed immediately downstream fromthe roll of substrate material 44 to temporarily reduce and/or eliminatethe curl C1. The tensioning device 46 operates to maintain constanttension of the substrate material 44 as it is removed from the unwindshaft 45. In one embodiment, the unwind shaft 45 can be driven by amotor (not shown) and can have an unwind encoder 47 or other means, forexample, for detecting the rotational speed and/or position of theunwind shaft 45 to facilitate control of the system 10, as will bediscussed further below. The tensioning device 46 includes a tensionroller 50 and an idler roller 48. The second surface 44 b of thesubstrate material 44 passes over the tension roller 50 and beneath theidler roller 48. Optionally, the substrate supply station 14 can includea feedback system that automatically maintains constant tension of thesubstrate material 44. For example, in one embodiment, the tensionroller 50 can be equipped with a force sensor 49 for monitoring themagnitude of force applied to the tension roller 50 by the substratematerial 44 and relays that information to the unwind encoder 47 forcontrolling the speed of the substrate material 44, as will be describedin more detail below. In alternative embodiments, the tension may bemanually set at the beginning of the process and not necessarilyautomatically controlled throughout the process.

Downstream from the substrate supply station 14 is the alignment station16. The alignment station 16 operates to align the substrate material 44in a “Y” direction, which “Y” direction is perpendicular to an “X”direction, which “X” direction is a direction of travel of the substratematerial 44 through the alignment station 16. The alignment station 16includes a web guide 52 and an edge guide sensor 54. The web guide 52includes a pair of guide rollers 52 a, 52 b, the axial position, forexample, and orientation of each of which can be adjusted to adjust theposition of the substrate material 44 as it passes through the alignmentstation 16 on its way to the lamination station 18. The edge guidesensor 54 can include a sensor such as an optical sensor, for example,that detects the orientation and/or position of either or both edges ofthe substrate material 44 as it passes therethrough. Based on thisdetection, the edge guide sensor can send a signal to the web guide 52to adjust the alignment of the substrate material 44, as necessary.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 10 can further be equipped with a coatingstation 56 located in the vicinity of the alignment station 16 andupstream from the lamination station 18. The coating station 56 caninclude a reservoir 60 and an applicator 58 such as a roller, forexample, that applies an anti-static material to the second surface 44 bof the substrate material 44 prior to the substrate material 44 enteringthe lamination station 18. In one embodiment, the anti-static materialcan include a water-based anti-static material that is applied to thesecond surface 44 b of the substrate material 44 in such a small amountthat it may be air dried prior to the substrate material 44 entering thelamination station 18.

The lamination station 18 of the presently disclosed system 10 includesa lamination roller 62 and a print station 64. The lamination roller 62is disposed adjacent to the drive drum 32. The lamination roller 62 andthe drive drum 32 define a nip 65 that receives the film material 28from the drive drum 32 and the substrate material 44 from the alignmentstation 16 for lamination. The lamination roller 62 is operative toapply a force against the drive drum 32 while the film material 28 andsubstrate material 44 pass through the nip 65 and the lamination station18. The force facilitates lamination of the first surface 44 a of thesubstrate material 44 to the first surface 28 a of the film material 28,thereby producing the aforementioned continuous web of laminate 68. Insome embodiments, the amount of force applied by the lamination roller62 can be adjusted as desired to accommodate any given processparameter.

In embodiments where the substrate material 44 includes the roll setcurl C1 discussed above, in the absence of tension, the laminate 68 canalso include a roll set curl C2 in the same direction as the curl C1 ofthe substrate material 44, i.e., in a direction toward the first surface44 a of the substrate material 44 of the laminate 68. The curl C2 in thelaminate 68 can have a magnitude that is equal to a magnitude of thecurl C1 of the substrate material 44 prior to lamination or, in someembodiments, the curl C2 in the laminate 68 can have a magnitude that isless than a magnitude of the curl C1. That is, in some embodiments, theprocess undergone in the lamination station 18 can reduce the curl C1 inthe substrate material 44. As such, said another way, the curl C2 in thelaminate can be less than or equal to the curl C1 in the substratematerial 44; or the curl C2 in the laminate 68 is at least a portion ofthe curl C1 in the substrate material 44. In still other embodiments,the curl C2 in the laminate 68 can be greater than or equal to the curlC1 in the substrate material 44.

As mentioned, the lamination station 18 also includes the printingstation 64. The printing station 64 can include first and second productmarkers 66 a, 66 b disposed on opposite sides of the laminate 68produced by the lamination station 18. Additionally, as illustrated inFIG. 1, the printing station 64 of the present embodiment includes atleast a pair of idler rollers 70 a, 70 b disposed on opposite sides ofthe product markers 66 a, 66 b to assist in guiding the laminate 68through the printing station 64. The first product marker 66 a caninclude a printer such as an ink jet printer or a laser printer, forexample, for printing production information such as a job number, astack number, a batch number, or any other desired information on thesecond surface 28 b of the film material 28 of the laminate 68, as thelaminate 68 passes through the printing station 64. Similar to the firstproduct marker 66 a, the second product marker 66 b can include aprinter such as an ink jet printer or a laser printer, for example, forprinting production information such as a job number, a stack number, abatch number, or any other desired information on the second surface 44b of the substrate material 44 of the laminate 68, as the laminate 68passes through the printing station 64.

Downstream from the printing station 64 of the lamination station 18 ofthe present embodiment of the system 10 is located the breaker barstation 20. So configured, the laminate 68 travels directly from thelamination station 18 to the breaker bar station 20 withoutinterruption. That is, the laminate 68 is neither rolled, cut, stored,nor otherwise moved off-line away from the system 10 as it moves fromthe lamination station 18 to the breaker bar station 20. Said anotherway, the breaker bar station 20 of the present embodiment is disposedin-line with the lamination station 18, and the remainder of the system10.

As mentioned above, the breaker bar station 20 is adapted to curl, bend,deform, and/or otherwise manipulate the continuous web of laminate 68 soas to counter, offset, reduce and/or eliminate the curl C2 and provide asubstantially flattened laminate 70. To achieve this objective, thebreaker bar station 20 of the present embodiment includes an idlerroller 72 and an elongate bar 74 disposed downstream from the idlerroller 72.

The idler roller 72 and elongate bar 74 each includes a longitudinalaxis disposed perpendicular to the direction of travel of the continuousweb of laminate 68 from the lamination station 18. The breaker barstation 20 receives the laminate 68 such that the second surface 28 b ofthe film material 28 of the laminate 68 engages the idler roller 72 andthe idler roller 72 redirects the laminate 68 to the elongate bar 74.The elongate bar 74 includes an elongate member constructed of metal,plastic, wood, or generally any other suitable, relatively rigid,material, and it has a working surface 76. During operation, theelongate bar 74 is generally fixed in position against rotation orotherwise such that the second surface 44 b of the substrate material 44of the continuous web of laminate 68 slides around the working surface76. The sliding of the laminate 68 around the working surface 76 causesthe laminate 68 to bend, curl, or otherwise deform around the elongatebar 64 in a direction toward the first surface 28 a of the film material28 of the laminate 68, thereby introducing a temporary curl C3 to thelaminate 68. The curl C3 introduced by the elongate bar 64 is in adirection that is opposite to the curl C2 of the laminate 68, asreceived from the lamination station 18. Accordingly, the curl C3introduced by the breaker bar station 20 is designed to offset the curlC2 in the continuous web of laminate 68 to produce the substantiallyflattened laminate 70 mentioned above. The substantially flattenedlaminate 70 preferably has zero curl, or curl within acceptabletolerances for any given set of processing parameters, for example.

The working surface 76 of the disclosed embodiment of the elongate bar64 includes a rounded surface, which can also be referred to as abull-nosed surface, with a predetermined radius of curvature. Therounded surface can be designed such that the elongate bar 74 does notscratch, tear, or otherwise damage the laminate 68 as it slides againstthe elongate bar 74. Friction generated by the laminate 68 slidingagainst the rounded surface 76 can beneficially assist in reducingand/or eliminating the curl C2 and introducing the curl C3 discussedabove. While the working surface 76 has been described as rounded, inalternative embodiments, the working surface 76 can have generally anyshape suitable for the intended purpose.

In the present embodiment, the orientation of the substrate material 44and the film material 28 of the laminate 68 further this objectivebecause it is the second surface 44 b of the substrate material 44 thatslides over the working surface 76 of the elongate bar 64. As describedabove, the substrate material 44 can generally include a material suchas paper or plastic, for example, having a thickness in the range ofapproximately 2 mils (50.8 μm) to approximately 24 mils (601.6 μm),while the film material 28 can generally include any material such as apaper material, a plastic material, a metal material, a metalizedmaterial, etc. having a thickness that is much thinner than thesubstrate material 44, e.g., in a range of approximately 0.25 mils (6.35μm) to approximately 2 mils (50.8 μm). As such, the substrate material44 is inherently better equipped to resist scratching, scraping, ortearing due to frictional forces generated between the laminate 68 andthe elongate bar 64. While the present embodiment of the system 10 hasbeen described in a manner that the substrate material 44 slides overand directly contacts the elongate bar 64 of the breaker bar station 20,the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to thisconfiguration. Rather, alternative embodiments of the system 10 could bearranged and configured such that the film material 28 slides over anddirectly contacts the elongate bar 74.

In some embodiments, the position of the elongate bar 74 relative to theidler roller 72 can be adjustable so as to adjust the degree to whichthe continuous web of laminate 68 is bent, curled, or manipulated aroundthe elongate bar 74. For example, as mentioned, the elongate bar 74includes an elongate member disposed generally perpendicular to adirection of travel of the laminate 68 from the lamination station 18.So configured, the elongate bar 74 includes a longitudinal axis A, whichextends into and out of the page relative to the orientation of FIG. 1,and around which the laminate 68 curls and passes as it traverses thebreaker bar station 20. For example, in order to increase the magnitudeof the curl C3 introduced to the laminate 68, the elongate bar 74 couldbe moved in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A closerto the idler roller 72. In this manner, a radius of curvature of atravel path for the laminate 68 through the breaker bar station 20 canpotentially be reduced, thereby imposing more curl on the laminate 68.Similarly, to decrease the magnitude of the curl C3 introduced to thelaminate 68, the elongate bar 74 could be moved in a directionperpendicular to the longitudinal axis A further away from the idlerroller 72. In this manner, a radius of curvature of a travel path forthe laminate 68 through the breaker bar station 20 can be increased,thereby imposing less curl on the laminate 68. In other embodiments, toadjust or change the magnitude of the curl C3 introduced to the laminate68 by the breaker bar station 20, the elongate bar 74 can be switchedout for another elongate bar 74 having a working surface 76 with adifferent radius of curvature.

Immediately downstream of the breaker bar station 20 is the registrationstation 22 of the system 10 of the present disclosure. So configured,the laminate 68 travels directly from the breaker bar station 20 to theregistration station 22 without interruption. That is, the laminate 68is neither rolled, cut, stored, or otherwise moved off-line away fromthe system 10 as it moves from the breaker bar station 20 to theregistration station. Said another way, the registration station 22 ofthe present embodiment is disposed in-line with the breaker bar station20, and the remainder of the system 10.

The presently disclosed embodiment of the registration station 22includes a sensor 78, a drive roller 80, and an idler roller 82. Thesensor 78 can include an optical sensor such as an electric eye, acharge-coupled-device (CCD), a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS), or generally any other suitable sensor, optical or otherwise.During an automated registration mode, the sensor 78 is adapted to sensean identifying mark carried by the film material 28 of the laminate 68and to transmit a signal to the sheeter station 24 to indicate to thesheeter station 24 when to cut the laminate 68, as will be discussed inmore detail below. The identifying mark carried by the laminate 68 caninclude a water mark, a cross hatch, or any other mark carried by thefilm material 28. In some embodiments, the film material 28 can beembedded with a specific material such as a magnetic particle to besensed by the sensor 78 as it passes through the registration station22. In other embodiments, the film material 28 may not includeidentifying markings, but rather, may be monochromatic, uniformlytransparent, or uniformly translucent, for example. In such instances,the system 10 can be set to operate in a manual mode that does not relyon detection of identifying markings to achieve registration. Instead,as mentioned above, the system 10 may operate in a manual registrationmode wherein the system 10 is set to monitor one or more systemparameters and to cut the laminate 68 into sheets of desired dimension,as will be described more fully below.

The drive roller 80 and the idler roller 82 of the registration station22 are disposed on opposite sides of the continuous web of laminate 68as it travels downstream from the sensor 78. As such, the drive roller80 and idler roller 82 of the present disclosure are disposedimmediately upstream from the sheeter station 24. That is, the laminate68 moves directly from the drive roller 80 and idler roller 82 to thesheeter station 24 without interruption. The drive roller 82 is adaptedto be driven to move the laminate 68 from the registration station 22 tothe sheeter station 24. The drive roller 82 can be equipped with a motor(not shown) and a drive encoder 84 for controlling the speed of thedrive roller 80 to ensure that the laminate 68 travels at constant speedand tension between the lamination station 18 and the sheeter station24, as will be described in more detail below. The idler roller 82 isfree to roll according to the speed of travel of the laminate 68 towardthe sheeter station 24.

The sheeter station 24 of the presently disclosed system 10 is disposedimmediately downstream from the registration station 22 and, asmentioned above, is adapted to cut the laminate 68 into the individualsheets 1 of predetermined dimensions. The terms “immediately downstream”and “immediately upstream,” as used throughout the present disclosure,means that there are no intervening components disposed between such“immediately”” upstream or downstream components. Accordingly, theprocessing material such as the laminate 68, for example, moves directlybetween such immediately upstream or downstream components. While thesheeter station 24 of the present embodiment is disclosed as beingdisposed immediately downstream of the registration station 22,alternative embodiments could be arranged differently, e.g., with one ormore intervening components, as may be desired for any suitable purpose.

As depicted, the present embodiment of the sheeter station 24 includes acutting drum 86 and a pair of rollers 88 a, 88 b. The cutting drum 86 isa generally cylindrical drum driven by a motor (not shown) and equippedwith a cutting encoder 90 and a knife 92. The cutting encoder 90 is forcommunicating with the sensor 78 of the registration station 22, any oneor more of the other encoders of the system 10, and/or a centralcontroller for controlling the rotation of the cutting drum 86, therebycontrolling when the knife 92 is to cut the continuous web of laminate68. While the knife 92 of the presently disclosed embodiment isdisclosed as being carried by the cutting drum 86, alternativeembodiments of the system 10 can include alternative cutting means knownin the art such as a flying knife, for example.

In the present embodiment, the pair of rollers 88 a, 88 b are disposedimmediately downstream of the cutting drum 86 for moving the individualsheets 1 from the sheeter station 24 to the stacking station 26. In oneembodiment, one of the rollers 88 a, 88 b can be driven by a motor (notshown) for pulling the sheets 1 from the cutting drum 86. In someembodiments, the driven roller 88 a, 88 b can pull the sheets 1 at aspeed that is faster than the speed at which the continuous web oflaminate 68 travels from the lamination station 18 to the sheeterstation 24 such that the rollers 88 a, 88 b can cleanly take the sheets1 away from the cutting drum 86. For example, in one embodiment, therollers 88 a, 88 b can take the sheets 1 away from the cutting drum 86at a speed that is in a range of approximately 1 foot per minute toapproximately 5 feet per minute faster than the travel of the web oflaminate 68 to the sheeter station 24. In one preferred embodiment, therollers 88 a, 88 b can take the sheets 1 away at a rate of approximately3 feet per minute faster than the speed of the laminate 68. In oneembodiment, the rollers 88 a, 88 b can be equipped with a nip encoder 94for controlling the rotational speed thereof relative to the speed ofthe continuous laminate 68 to ensure that the individual sheets 1 aretaken away at an increased rate, as just described.

The stacking station 26 includes a transport conveyor 96 and a deliveryconveyor 98. The transport conveyor 96 is disposed immediatelydownstream from the pair of rollers 88 a, 88 b of the sheeter station 24for moving the individually cut sheets 1 toward the delivery conveyor98. The delivery conveyor 98 includes opposing upper and lower beltconveyors 98 a, 98 b disposed on opposite sides of the individual sheets1. The delivery conveyor 98 is adapted to move the individual sheets 1into a stack 100 of individual sheets 1. In one embodiment, the deliveryconveyor 98 includes a delivery encoder 102 in communication with one ormore of the other encoders of the system and/or a central controller forcontrolling the speed of the delivery conveyor 98 to achieve the stack100.

As described above, the system 10 disclosed with reference to FIG. 1 caninclude a plurality of sensors, motors, and encoders for controllingand/or monitoring the operation of the system 10. In combination, thesecomponents are arranged to define a control system 200. FIG. 2 depicts ablock diagram of one embodiment of a control system 200. The controlsystem 200 includes a central controller 202, the drum encoder 42 of thefilm supply station 12, the unwind encoder 47 and the force sensor 49 ofthe substrate supply station 14, the drive encoder 84 and sensor 78 ofthe registration station 22, the nip encoder 94 and the cutting encoder90 of the sheeter station 24, and the delivery encoder 102 of thestacking station 26. In one embodiment, the unwind encoder 47, the driveencoder 84, the nip encoder 94, the cutting encoder 90, and the deliveryencoder 102 can each communicate directly with the drum encoder 42, asshown. In one embodiment, the drum encoder 42 includes an absoluteencoder, while the unwind encoder 47, drive encoder 84, nip encoder 94,cutting encoder 90, and delivery encoder 102 each includes anincremental encoder. The drum encoder 42 can communicate directly withthe central controller 202. The central encoder 202 can include acomputer including a processor, a RAM, a ROM, a user interface, and/orany other components suitable for the intended purpose. With thisconfiguration, the central controller 202 can facilitate operation ofthe entire system 10 depicted in FIG. 1 based on information stored inthe RAM and/or ROM and/or based on information received from a user viathe user interface. For example, for any given operation, a user mayinput the type of materials being used for the film material 28 and/orsubstrate material 44, the desired dimensions of the individual sheets 1to be cut, the desired processing speed, etc. The central controller 202can then instruct the drum encoder 42 to rotate the drive drum 32 at aparticular rotational speed to achieve the desired objectives. Theremaining encoders 47, 84, 94, 90, 102 of the present embodiment thencontrol their respective components based on the speed of the drive drum32. Additionally, as shown and mentioned above, the unwind encoder 47communicates with the force sensor 49 of the tensioning roller 50 tocontrol the rotational speed of the substrate material 44 based on themagnitude of the force applied to the tension roller 50 by the substratematerial 44. That is, if the force sensor 49 detects a force that isgreater than some predetermined threshold, the unwind encoder 47 candetermine that the rotational speed of the substrate material 44 is toolow, and therefore, the unwind encoder 47 can increase the rotationalspeed of the substrate material 44. Alternatively, if the force sensor49 detects a force that is less than some predetermined threshold, theunwind encoder 47 can determine that the rotational speed of thesubstrate material 44 is too high, and therefore, the unwind encoder 47can decrease the rotational speed of the substrate material 44.

Further still, as shown in FIG. 2, the cutting encoder 90 is also indirect communication with the sensor 78 of the registration station 22.So configured, in the automated registration mode, when the sensor 78detects the passage of the identifying mark on the laminate 68, thesensor 78 can transmit a signal to the cutting encoder 90. Based on thetiming of this signal and the rate at which the continuous laminate 68travels through the registration station 22, the cutting encoder 90 canensure that the cutting drum 86 is positioned in the proper orientationsuch that the knife 92 will cut the laminate 68 at the identifying mark,thereby ensuring that the individual sheets 1 are of desired dimensionwithin appropriate tolerances. In some embodiments, the cutting drum 86rotates generally continuously and, as such, the cutting encoder 90 canoperate to adjust the speed of rotation of the cutting drum 86 to ensurethat the knife 92 will cut the web of laminate 68 at the desiredlocations.

Alternatively, as mentioned above, the system 10 can operate in themanual registration mode. In the manual registration mode, the sheeterstation 24 cuts the web of laminate 68 based on a particular input,e.g., a dimension, entered into the system 10 by a technician. Thesystem 10 is then programmed to ensure that the sheeter station 24 cutsthe web of laminate 68 at specific locations to produce sheets 1 ofspecified dimensions. For example, the sheeter station 24 may beprogrammed to cut the web of laminate 68 every 12″, 18″, 24″, or anyother length. In one embodiment, to ensure that the cuts are made asaccurately as possible, the central controller 202 substantiallycontinuously monitors the drum encoder 42 and instructs the sheeterstation 24 to cut the web of laminate 68 based on an absolute revolutionof the drive drum 32. Because the drive drum 32 has a fixed diameter,the central controller 202 can determine the length of the film material28 that has passed over the drive drum 32 for any given period of timeby performing a simple calculation based on the absolute revolution ofthe drive drum 32, as indicated by the drum encoder 42. The filmmaterial 28 ultimately forms a part of the web of laminate 68 fed to andthrough the sheeter station 24. Accordingly, the central controller 202can determine the length of the web of laminate 68 that has passedthrough the sheeter station 24, which is the same as the length of thefilm material 28 that passes over the drive drum 32. In one embodiment,the drive encoder 42 can send a signal to the central controller 202 upto 10,000 times per revolution, for example, and as such, the centralcontroller 202 can substantially continuously determine the length ofthe laminate 68 being moved through the system 10 to ensure that thesheeter station 24 cuts the laminate 68 at a precise location.

While the foregoing embodiment identifies the central controller 202 asperforming the determination of the length of the laminate 68 passingthrough the sheeter station 24, in other embodiments, the sheeterstation 24 can be equipped with a separate controller such as aprogrammed logic controller (PLC), for example, for performing thisdetermination. In such a configuration, the drum encoder 42 could sendsignals directly to the PLC of the sheeter station 24 such that thelength of the laminate 68 between cuts could be calculated by thesheeter station 24 instead of the central controller 202. Moreover,while the foregoing embodiment is described as calculating the length ofthe laminate 68 based on the absolute revolution of the drive drum 32,other embodiments could make a similar determination based onrevolutions of a different drum or roller of the system 10 such as thedrive roller 80 of the registration system 22, for example, or any otherdrum or roller equipped with or capable of being equipped with anencoder or other suitable device.

Still referring to FIG. 2, only the drum encoder 42 is illustrated asbeing in direct communication with the central controller 202, but inalternative embodiments, any or all of the other encoders 47, 84, 94,90, 102 and/or sensors 49, 78 can also be in direct communication withthe central controller 202. In some embodiments, all of the encoders 47,84, 94, 90, 102 communicate with each other through the centralcontroller 202. In still other embodiments, any or all of the encoders47, 84, 94, 90, 102 can communicate directly with each other.

With the system 10 arranged and configured as described above withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference will now be made to the flowchartdepicted in FIG. 3 to describe one embodiment of the operation of thesystem 10. At block 300 of FIG. 3, the drive drum 32 pulls the filmmaterial 28 from the roll stored on the shaft 36 of the film supplystation 12 and moves the film material 28 to the nip 65 of thelamination station 18. The rate at which the drive drum 32 rotates canbe dictated by the central controller 202, for example. As the filmmaterial 28 is removed from the shaft 36, the film coating station 30applies an adhesive to the first surface 28 a of the film material 28,as illustrated at block 302. The film material 28 then travels aroundthe drive drum 32 and past the drying oven 34, as illustrated at block304, where any water carried by the adhesive is evaporated. Finally, thedrive drum 32 delivers the coated film material 28 to the nip 65 of thelamination station 18, as illustrated at block 306.

Simultaneously with the movement of the film material 28, the substratematerial 44 is also moved to the nip 65 of the lamination station 18 byway of the unwind shaft 45 and tensioning device 46, as indicated byblock 308. That is, the unwind shaft 45 rotates the roll of substratematerial 44 to deliver the substrate material 44 to the tensioningdevice 46. The rate at which the unwind shaft 45 rotates can be based onthe rate at which the drive drum 32 rotates, which can be communicatedto the unwind shaft 45 via the unwind encoder 47 and the drum encoder42, for example. Additionally, as discussed above, the rate at which theunwind shaft 45 rotates can be based on a signal received from thetensioning device 46 and, more particularly, based on a signal receivedfrom the force sensor 49 of the tensioning device 46. As such,throughout operation of the system 10, the force sensor 49 can generallycontinuously and/or intermittently monitor the force applied to thetension roller 50, as indicated at block 310, thereby enabling thecontrol system 200 to continuously and/or intermittently monitor and/oradjust the rotational speed of the unwind shaft 45 if necessary, asindicated at block 312.

As the substrate material 44 exits the tensioning device 46, it travelsdownstream through the alignment station 16 where the web guide 52 andedge guide sensor 54 cooperate to align the substrate material 44, asindicated at block 314, immediately prior to entering the nip 65 of thelamination station 18. In some embodiments, and as described above withreference to FIG. 1, the second surface 44 b of the substrate material44 may further be coated with an anti-static coating by the coatingstation 56 prior to entering the nip 65 of the lamination station 18, asindicated at block 316.

As the film material 28 and the substrate material 44 enter the nip 65of the lamination station 18, the lamination roller 62 applies a forceagainst the drive drum 32 to laminate the first surface 44 a of thesubstrate material 44 to the first surface 28 a of the film material 28,as indicated at block 318. This lamination step produces the continuousweb of laminate 68, as described above.

The continuous web of laminate 68 is then moved through the printstation 64 where the first and second product markers 66 a, 66 b canmark each side thereof with product identifying information or any otherdesired information, as indicated at block 320 and described above. Theprint station 64 and marking steps are optional features.

After passing through the optional print station 64, the continuous webof laminate 68 can be moved to the breaker bar station 20 where it issubstantially flattened by bending the laminate 68 around the idlerroller 72 and the elongate bar 74 to introduce the curl C3 to counterthe curl C2 in the laminate 68 as a result of the roll set curl C1 ofthe substrate material 44, as indicated at block 322.

The flattened laminate 68 then travels through the registration station22. At block 323 it is determined whether the system 10 is operating inthe automated registration mode or the manual registration mode, asdiscussed above. If operating in the automated registration mode, thesensor 78 detects the presence of identifying markings on the secondsurface 28 b of the film material 28, as indicated at block 324. Upondetecting an identifying marking, the sensor 78 transmits a signal tothe sheeting station 24 and, more particularly, to the cutting encoder90, as indicated at block 326. The cutting encoder 90 then ensures thatthe cutting drum 86 is being driven at a speed sufficient to ensure thatthe knife 92 carried by the cutting drum 86 cuts the continuous web oflaminate 68 approximately directly at the identifying mark on thelaminate 68 within acceptable tolerances, as indicated at block 328,thereby providing the individual sheets 1. However, if the system 10 isoperating in the manual registration mode, the laminate 68 merely passesthrough the registration station 22 and onto the sheeter station 24where the cutting encoder 90 is continuously receiving signals from thecentral controller 202 or the drive encoder 42, for example, indicativeof the absolute revolution of the drive drum 32 since the last cut wasmade and/or indicative of the length of the amount of the film material28 that has passed over the drive drum 32. As shown at block 325, thecutting encoder 90 or a PLC of the sheeter station 24, for example, isconfigured to continuously receive these signals and monitor theposition of the cutting drum 86 and associated knife 92. If necessary,the cutting encoder 90 or PLC of the sheeter station 24 can adjust therotation of the cutting drum 86, as shown at block 327, to ensure thatthe knife 92 cuts the laminate 68 at the desired location based on thesignals received, as indicated at block 328.

Once the individual sheets 1 are cut with the knife 92, the pair ofrollers 88 a, 88 b pull the sheets 1 away from the cutting drum 86 andonto the transport conveyor 96, as indicated at block 330. The transportconveyor 96 then transfers the sheets 1 to the delivery conveyor 98 tobe ejected into the stack 100 shown in FIG. 1, as indicated at block332.

Throughout the foregoing process, the present system 10 advantageouslymaintains desired speed and/or tension of the film material 28, thesubstrate material 44, the continuous web of laminate 68, and theindividual sheets 1 due to the incorporation of the control system 200.

Moreover, the presently disclosed system 10 advantageously provideshighly accurate registration of the individual sheets 1 by way of theregistration station 22 including the sensor 78 in communication withthe cutting drum 86 of the sheeting station 24 or by way of monitoringthe rotation of the drive drum 32, for example, to determined theappropriate location to cut to the web of laminate 68 based on thelength of the laminate 68 that has passed through the system 10 betweencuts. For example, in the disclosed automated registration modeembodiment, the sensor 78 of the registration station 22 is in closeproximity to the cutting drum 86 and its associated cutting encoder 90.This close proximity enables the components to work in very quickconjunction with each other, thereby resulting in very precise,accurate, and repeatable registered cuts to produce individual sheets 1with very accurate dimensions with smaller tolerances than previouslyknown systems. Another advantage of the disclosed system 10 is that thesensor 78 of the registration station 22 is disposed in a location suchas to detect identifying markings on the film material 28 after the filmmaterial 28 and the substrate material 44 have been laminated to formthe continuous web of laminate 68. As such, the system 10 can accuratelyidentify the precise location to cut the continuous laminate 68.

Numerous additional modifications and alternative embodiments of theinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of theforegoing description. This description is to be construed asillustrative only, and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled inthe art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details of thestructure and method may be varied substantially without departing fromthe spirit of the invention, and the exclusive use of all modificationswhich come within the scope of the appended claims is reserved.

1.-35. (canceled)
 36. A method of making a laminated product, the methodcomprising: moving substrate material from a roll through a nip disposedbetween a drive drum and a laminating roller, the substrate materialhaving a first surface and a second surface disposed opposite the firstsurface; moving film material from a roll through the nip, the filmmaterial having a first surface and a second surface; applying a forceto the substrate material and the film material with the laminatingroller as the substrate material and film material move through the nip,thereby facilitating lamination of the first surface of the substratematerial to the first surface of the film material to provide acontinuous web of laminate; bending and sliding the continuous web oflaminate around an elongate bar that is disposed downstream from the nipto provide a continuous web of substantially flattened laminate.
 37. Themethod of claim 36, further comprising moving the continuous web oflaminate without interruption from the nip to the elongate bar.
 38. Themethod of claim 36, further comprising: determining when to cut thecontinuous web of substantially flattened laminate to provide individualsheets of a predetermined dimension; and cutting the continuous web ofsubstantially flattened laminate to provide individual sheets of thepredetermined dimension.
 39. The method of claim 38, wherein determiningwhen to cut the continuous web of substantially flattened laminatecomprises detecting the passage of a marking on the continuous web ofsubstantially flattened laminate with an optical sensor substantiallyimmediately prior to cutting the continuous web of substantiallyflattened laminate.
 40. The method of claim 39, further comprisingsending a signal to a sheeter station instructing the sheeter station tocut the continuous web of substantially flattened laminate, the signalbased on when the optical sensor detected the passage of the marking.41. The method of claim 40, further comprising moving the continuous webof substantially flattened laminate without interruption directlybetween the optical sensor and the sheeter station.
 42. The method ofclaim 39, wherein determining when to cut the continuous web of laminatecomprises determining a length of the web of laminate that has passedthrough the sheeter station.
 43. The method of claim 42, whereindetermining a length of the web of laminate that has passed through thesheeter station comprises monitoring an absolute revolution of a drum ofthe system and calculating the length based on the absolute revolutionof the drum.
 44. The method of claim 36, further comprising aligning thesubstrate material in a direction substantially perpendicular to adirection of travel at a location downstream from the roll of substratematerial and upstream from the nip.
 45. The method of claim 36, whereinbending and sliding the continuous web of laminate around the elongatebar comprises sliding the second surface of the substrate material ofthe continuous web of laminate around the elongate bar.
 46. A method ofmaking a laminated product, the method comprising: moving substratematerial from a roll through a nip disposed between a drive drum and alaminating roller, the substrate material having a first surface and asecond surface disposed opposite the first surface; moving film materialfrom a roll through the nip, the film material having a first surfaceand a second surface; applying a force to the substrate material and thefilm material with the laminating roller as the substrate material andfilm material move through the nip, thereby facilitating lamination ofthe first surface of the substrate material to the first surface of thefilm material to provide a continuous web of laminate; determining whento cut the continuous web of laminate to provide individual sheets of apredetermined dimension; and cutting the continuous web of laminate witha sheeter station to provide individual sheets of the predetermineddimension.
 47. The method of claim 46, wherein determining when to cutthe continuous web of laminate comprises determining a length of the webof laminate that has passed through the sheeter station.
 48. The methodof claim 47, wherein determining a length of the web of laminate thathas passed through the sheeter station comprises monitoring an absoluterevolution of a drum of the system and calculating the length based onthe absolute of the drum.
 49. The method of claim 46, whereindetermining when to cut the continuous web of laminate comprisesdetecting the passage of a marking on the continuous web of laminatewith an optical sensor disposed substantially immediately prior tocutting the continuous web of laminate.
 50. The method of claim 49,further comprising sending a signal to a sheet cutter to cut thecontinuous web of laminate, the signal based on then the optical sensordetected the passage of the marking.
 51. The method of claim 50, furthercomprising moving the continuous web of substantially flattened laminatewithout interruption directly between the optical sensor and the sheetcutter.
 52. The method of claim 46, further comprising bending andsliding the continuous web of laminate around an elongate bar disposeddownstream of the nip to provide a substantially flattened continuousweb of laminate.
 53. The method of claim 52, further comprising movingthe continuous web of laminate without interruption from the nip to theelongate bar.
 54. The method of claim 46, further comprising aligningthe substrate material in a direction substantially perpendicular to adirection of travel at a location downstream from the roll of substratematerial and upstream from the nip.